On my recent trip to Napa with my girlfriends, they gave me a great idea, experience gifts! After one our amazing visit to Chappellet, my girlfriends, Colleen and Liz gifted their in-laws/parents a wine tasting “experience”. They bought a few different bottles, which most could only be bought at the winery, and surprised them Christmas morning with not only the wines, but telling them that the big part of the gift was that they would be hosting a wine pairing night for them! This means they will be making different dishes that pair with the wines they gifted! I loved the idea so much that we ended up doing the same thing for Joel’s parents. They cashed in on their gift this weekend, check it out below!

The wines we gifted were the following:

• Domaine Gassier Viognier – I tried a Viognier at Freemark Abbey in Napa and fell in love. For this wine, it paired well with buttery cheeses. I used a Saint Andre (always a go to for me), a truffle cheese on sale at whole foods, and Mimolette, not buttery, but provided a different texture and some dimension to the board! I used some spicy crackers for the cheeses and Proscuitto di Parma.
• Chappellet Mountain Cuvee– As Chappellet themselves said, this wine doesn’t need food to taste amazing! But we paired this delicious red blend with short ribs I made in the slow cooker and a mushroom orzo side dish.
• Orin Swift Mute– If you can get your hands on one of these, do it, you will not be disappointed. Dessert wines were definitely a trend when we were in Napa and this was my favorite. We paired this with a chocolate souffle which the sweetness of the souffle paired PERFECTLY with the Mute. So good, we finished the whole bottle!

Overall, everyone had such a nice time trying new wines, enjoying delicious food and spending quality time together! These last few weeks and the next few weeks coming up have been overwhelmingly busy, so to be able to take a break for a few hours to enjoy some of our favorite things was a real treat!

If you’d like to do something similar here are a few tips and recommendations:

• Plan what you’d like to cook first, then plan your wine! Unless you have a particular wine in mind. In my case, the only wine I had picked out before hand was the Mute since I had brought it back from California.
• Visit a local wine shop for good suggestions, as opposed to a big chain store. If you’re local in Miami, I highly suggest Sunset Corners. Anyone there can give you amazing recommendations and they usually have some things you may not find at a bigger store.
• Do your research on the wines your serving. You may be surprised about what you learn!

A quick change of topic…I want to thank everyone who has joined this blogging journey with me and all the support you’ve shown in the last 15 weeks or so! The beginning of January will be a little quiet for LiveLoveFinds as I will be getting married January 11th and shortly after we will be going on our honeymoon! Expect lots of amazon finds and travel suggestions following that!

Can’t wait to catch up with you all in the new decade! Happy New Year!

If you follow me on social media, you are well aware that this past weekend was my bachelorette party in Napa! For what felt like the first time in my life, I had no part in the planning process. Terrifying, yes, worth every second of anxiety leading up to the trip, ABSOLUTELY. My ladies know me well and that definitely was reflected in our itinerary, check it out below!

Thursday:

• Delayed arrival into SFO (as a result we missed a tasting, but everything happens for a reason), rented our car
• Pit stop at In-n-Out
• Arrive at our super adorable and friendliest hotel, Calistoga Motor Lodge & Spa. The staff was fantastic, the rooms so adorable, and the spa and mineral pools are the perfect way to end a hard day of trying wine!
• Dinner at Farmstead. This was my ONE request to my girls when planning this trip. Joel and I had dined here a few years back based on a locals recommendation and we still talk about that dinner! Interestingly enough, anytime we asked locals for recommendations, Farmstead was always the first one!

Friday:

• Quick bite to eat at Bella Bakery before starting a full day of tasting. Their Strawberry Balsamic muffin was delicious!
• First tasting at Freemark Abbey. We were able to do a comparative tasting which was a first for me! This meant we got to try wines side by side to understand their differences. Fun fact about Freemark Abbey, it was the first Winery in the valley started by a woman!
• Next tasting at Honig. Their property and tasting room were SO gorgeous! We had a wonderful host and a whole room to ourselves which was so intimate! We all left with at least one bottle, me with two and with some honey straight from their property. If you like dessert wine and have the opportunity to try this, I highly recommend!
• We then stopped for lunch at La Luna, a taqueria and market with AMAZING (I had chorizo and beef tongue) tacos. If you don’t like spicy, ask for the sauce on the side!
• Next stop, Beringer, we got a special tour of their caves which was so fun while sipping on their wines!
• After our day of tastings, we stopped at Sam’s Social Club for a drink and snacks, the Deviled Eggs were amazing!
• We had one last tasting of the day, conveniently located in our hotel lobby! The winemaker and owner of Solorio Family Wines hosted a tasting and it was so nice being able to learn about his passion for wine making and meet his daughter!
• Finally, we finished our night with a delicious dinner at Lovina. If you have the chance to check it out, I highly recommend their oysters and their duck which was cooked to perfection!

Saturday:

• The girls planned a special breakfast for me at Solbar, this may have been one of my favorite meals. We practically ordered the entire menu, but the avocado toast really stuck out for me!
• We headed to our first tasting at the Orin Swift tasting room. If you get the opportunity to check it out, I highly recommend. Unlike any other tasting room in Napa, think rap music playing while sipping some delicious wines!
• Next we headed to Louis M. Martini, I cannot say enough great things about how GORGEOUS this winery is. They’ve just renovated and it’s like Restoration Hardware heaven!
• Finally, we had one of my favorite tastings of the weekend and not open to the public, at The Spire Collection. Here we got to taste wines from the Jackson Family Wine portfolio, but what really made this a treat was our host Dale. He took so much time in not only getting to know us, but in educating us.
• After a laborious day of tasting, we headed back to our hotel for some famous Calistoga mud baths and a dip in our mineral pools! This was JUST what we needed!
• We finished our evening at RH Yountville. If you haven’t heard by now Restoration Hardware has opened up quite a few restaurants and Younteville hosts one of them. Not only do I love Yountville, but this is arguably one of the most Instagrammed spots in Napa! It’s no wonder as your sitting underneath an olive tree with a chandelier!

Sunday:

• On our final day we had some vouchers from our hotel to use for breakfast at Calistoga Roastery. I had a delicious spinach croissant!
• Our one and only tasting of the day was at Chappallet. This was also one of my favorite experiences of the weekend! We tasted Chappallet’s amazing family wines in a private room surrounded by their wine barrels! Unfortunately, we didn’t get to tour the winery itself as it was under construction, but we did get a tour of the property which may be one of the most beautiful grounds I’ve ever seen! Lindsey was an amazing host!
• Before heading back to San Fran, we stopped at a Napa classic, Mustard’s Grill. Highly recommend anything lamb off their menu and hopefully you get lucky enough to try their Pineapple Upside Down Cake (this was a special)!
• San Francisco is not my favorite place to say the least. After some tedious driving around, we stopped at Saru for dinner. No one was hungry, but we had only heard amazing things about Saru and it was certainly not a let down! Super fresh sushi, great recommendations by our waitress as well! I would recommend getting there before their opening time as there is a line to get in! At this point our bellies were full and we were ready to head to SFO for our red eye flights back home.

This weekend was truly a dream for me. Not only was I in one of my favorite places in the world, but I got to enjoy it with some of my favorite people and share with them something Joel and I love so much, wine!

* Note, because my best friend Kamille is in the hospitality business, selling wine specifically, she was able to arrange exclusive tastings, not open to the public. While our tastings may have been different, you can still reserve tastings that are open to the public at all of the wineries we visited!

With only two weeks left until Christmas, I’ve put together some gift ideas and mainly all from Amazon to make sure you get them on time! Make sure to check shipping and availability before checking out! Happy shopping my friends!

Below some of my last minute ideas in all price ranges!

Men

1. Cable Strap Organizer – $ Super inexpensive and very practical, Joel’s FAVORITE combo
2. Buck Mason Shirt– $$ These are Joel’s favorite T-shirts right now! They’re super soft and great quality!
3. Yeti Cooler– $$$ We own this cooler and I can’t say enough good things about it. Will keep stuff cold for over 24 hours, it’s nuts! Also, it’s the best size for travelling!

Women

1. Apple Watch Strap– $ I don’t own this, but it is on my wish list this year, hint hint! And so many different options to chose from!
2. Taudrey Necklace– $$ If you are from Miami and haven’t shopped at Taudrey, RUN! Her pieces are timeless and I love that you can personalize almost any of their pieces!
3. Eberjey Pajamas– $$$ I highly suggest indulging in ANYTHING Eberjey, definitely worth the splurge! The materials they use are heavenly! You can buy these directly from Eberjey, or Amazon, the fun part of buying these from Eberjey is you can personalize them!

Kids 8 & Over

1. Draw your own Comic Book– $ I love that this is a gift that works for girls, boys, adults, kids, any one really! You can’t beat the price and what a fun activity!
2. Headphones– $$ In doing research for these gift ideas, headphones were a very popular choice for kids! These have great reviews, come in different colors, and are wireless!
3. Instax Mini Camera– $$$ I have this camera and I have to say I’m obsessed! The link I’ve provided here is a bundle package at a great price!

Kids 8 & Under

1. Smart Light Bulb– $ This light is super cool! Not only does it change colors but it links up to your Alexa or Google Home! We just got one for Thomas and he loves it!
2. Echo Dot for Kids– $$ There’s currently a sale on this, so run! This is a fun gift for the tech savvy kiddo!
3. Fire Tablet– $$$ We had this table for Thomas for quite some time and it was great! It was so easy for him to use and very kid friendly!

Babies 2 & Under

1. Photo Book– $ I think this is such a sweet gift! Especially if you fill it out with some family photos beforehand 😉
2. Octopus Music Toy– $$ My brothers got this as a gift when they were born (17 years ago) and it was always one of my favorites! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gifted this since then!
3. VTech Sit-to-Stand Walker– $$$ I’ve always loved VTech toys, we’ve had some great ones for Thomas throughout the years. This is an amazon choice purchase, won’t break the bank, and has wonderful reviews!

Coworkers, Neighbors, Stylists, Hostesses, etc.

Here are some ideas for people you may not know so well, or maybe you need to gift in bulk!

1. Cookie tins- The dollar store has cute holiday themed boxes, fill these up with some premade or homemade cookies or snacks. Who can resist a yummy treat!
2. Personalized Ornaments- Etsy is great for this, but if you haven’t already check out Kelsy at Miami Writes co. She just customized a clutch for my wedding day and her work is amazing!
3. Personalized Wine Glasses or Tumblers- If you have a Cricut and can do this yourself. AWESOME, if not Etsy is the way to go!
4. Silicone Straws on the Go– I got this at a conference earlier this year and thought it was so clever!
5. Flavored Alcohol- I did this a few years back for coworkers, easy for big batch groups. Here’s a sample recipe. I gifted mine in mason jars with a pretty bow!

I hope this list helps with your holiday gift giving! If you have any ideas to add to the list, please share!

This weekend it hit 50 degrees in Miami and it couldn’t have been more perfect timing, considering we got our Christmas tree! I know, it’s not even Thanksgiving yet, BUT we are having our annual holiday party this week and I can’t imagine hosting this party WITHOUT a Christmas tree. Check back next week to see all my holiday party planning tips! By the way, finding a Christmas tree before Thanksgiving was more challenging than I thought, especially in Miami.

If you’ve been following along, you’ll see some decor hasn’t changed, like the pumpkins. I love all the pumpkins we added this year!

When Joel and I had Christmas together in our first home we invested in some ornaments, tree topper and holiday decor that were timeless, the rest of our ornaments I crafted or we’ve gotten along the way. My favorite ornament we added this year was from our trip our Beaver Creek in March when we got engaged! But if you look close at our tree, you’ll see how we’ve been able to personalize and make our tree true to us.

To make these ornaments, I purchased wood chips on Amazon (holes for hooks already on them!) and I painted half the wood chips with chalkboard paint and the others I ordered our favorite pictures from throughout the years and sized them small enough to put on the ornaments! Below I’ll share with you how I created each.

You don’t have to go crazy, or spend tons of money to cozy up your home for the holidays. I have gone accumulating our decorations over the years and Michael’s (with coupons), Bullseye’s playground @ Target, and the Dollar Store have been my best friends when it comes to holiday decorating!

• Tree Topper @ Target
• Stocking (version one) @ Michael’s
• Stocking (version two) @ Michael’s
• Tree Skirt @ Michael’s
• Staircase Garland @ Michael’s
• Gold Ornaments @ Michael’s
• Wood Chips @ Amazon
• Staircase Pumpkins @ Amazon (these are similar to mine as mine are sold out)
• Fabric Pumpkins @ Target
• Felt Board @ Amazon

Share with me your holiday decor!

This post was originally going to be just an Instagram post, but then I realized, my guac needed it’s own blog post. I mean we had an entire family photo shoot centered around our guac (thank you Maria!). You can say it’s pretty important around here, also, margaritas.

Guac is a staple in our house, summer time, winter time (is there a difference in Miami?), when we’re entertaining or it’s just us. My favorite time to make it is when it’s just the three of us because Thomas’ loves to help out in the kitchen and I’ll take those little hands helping out whenever I can!

What makes my recipe different? Chipotle powder. We tend to recreate a lot of Mexican dishes around here and chances are, there’s going to be some variation of chipotle in it. We particularly love making our margaritas with this chipotle tequila! I always encourage you take my recipes and make them your own, if you’re not into chipotle, you can just omit, or try another preferred spice! Let me know what you try!

Ingredients & Recipe

Ingredients (for 4-6 people)

• 3 Haas avocados, peeled and pitted
• Juice of 2 limes
• Salt*
• Pepper*
• Garlic owder*
• Cumin*
• Chipotle powder*
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 1/4 a cup of chopped clantro

*Note: As always, I never measure my seasoning. I go tasting as I cook/prepare and adjust as needed. I encourage you to do the same!

1. In a large enough bowl, add avocados and lime juice and mash to desired consistency. I like our guac a little chunky.
2. Add in seasoning, salt, pepper, garlic powder, cumin and chipotle powder, onion and cilantro.
3. Mix all together.
4. Serve with chips and enjoy!